I had a sleep study last night. Anyone else?

[Missy Vixen]

I know there must be others here who've undergone a sleep study. My husband was diagnosed with sleep apnea last year. He has a CPAP now. It's working out very well, and I can stop worrying that he's going to die in his sleep of a heart attack or a stroke...

I have been having trouble sleeping for many years now, so I finally decided to make the appointment and go in.

If you've never been, it's like this. You're wired up to the extent you'd swear you could broadcast HBO. There are sensors on your face, on your scalp, all over your body, and the only possible way to find out what happens when you sleep is to, well, go to sleep. Even with Ambien, I had a VERY hard time sleeping.

I'll find out what the problem is when I go to the doctor next week. In the meantime, I know you're dying to tell the rest of us how yours went!

Julie

[Missy Vixen]

1. I can't be the only person out of almost 100,000 to go through this!

:kick:

Julie

[achtung_circus]

2. I had one.

Based on snoring, nothing more. I sleep quite nicely, thank you, although I do snore (I'm told).

[Missy Vixen]

3. Were you relieved to learn it wasn't something serious?

>I sleep quite nicely, thank you, although I do snore (I'm told).<

I didn't realize that I snored until I had to share a hotel room recently with a woman who didn't alert me to this little fact till it was too late for me to obtain other lodging...

Julie

[achtung_circus]

7. It never bothered me.

Although my ex-wife was a little perturbed that there wasn't a quick fix for what she thought ailed me.

:P :hi:

[NC_Nurse]

4. My dad was a BIGTIME snorer!

I don't think he had sleep apnea, but he did have a UPP surgery - the roto rooter of your palate to help stop snoring.
My mom says he still snores, but not quite as loudly.
I can remember waking up as a child and thinking a lion was growling at me from their bedroom, that's how loud he was!

I've never gone through a sleep study, but I've had patients on CPAP. It's pretty noisy, must be hard to get used to. Many people
need it but won't use it because of that problem. I'm glad it's been workable for your husband.

[Missy Vixen]

5. I sleep now because of the CPAP

>I'm glad it's been workable for your husband.<

Even with my own freaky sleep issues ;-), I sleep much better than I ever used to because of my husband's CPAP. I'd wake up 5-10 times a night before he got it because he'd stop breathing, or he'd be snoring so loud I couldn't sleep. I made the appointment at the sleep disorders doctor and insisted that he go. I can't lose him.

We have a neighbor whose husband snores so loudly she sends him in to sleep with the kids. (?) I asked her if she'd ever consider sending her husband to the sleep disorders doctor. (He's an executive with Nintendo. They have adequate health insurance to pay for it.) She just kept bitching about the snoring, bitching about the noise, bitching about having to sleep with him. She's got four kids under 10, and doesn't work outside the home. I asked her if she knew anything about sleep apnea and how deadly it can be. My parting comment to her was, "Would you like to be alone and raising four kids?"

Julie

[TimeChaser]

6. I had a sleep study once

I was having anxiety problems that lead to sleeplessness, and they asked if I would like to participate in a university study. I got paid for it :D

[haf216]

8. I haven't had one yet , but I have thought about it.

I have never slept well. Even if I can get to sleep i don't always sleep deep. I usually trying to make on three or four hours (if I'm lucky) of sleep a night. I know this is very dangerous, I hear all the time abut car wreaks where someone has fallen asleep. I keep meaning to talk to my doctor, but...

[Missy Vixen]

14. My husband finally agreed to go

after he fell asleep behind the wheel of our car with me in the passenger seat.

If your insurance will cover it, please make the appointment.

Julie

[Dem2theMax]

9. Next week I am going to be evaluated to see if I NEED the sleep study.

I stop breathing in my sleep, so my guess is, yes, I need it. LOL?

[Kali]

10. oh yeah!

I too sold myself for scientific experiments to get mine. Made $500, got really good care/2 studies and got a cpap. I have finally been sleeping for the past 4 or 5 months after oh, probably my whole life of not sleeping right. I did have to use the damn thing for 6 months first, and of course I ended up in a placebo group where it wasn't set to do any good. the first night I went back to have my correct settings was amazing - totally different night than any I think I had ever had up until that time. No tossing and turning (sore shoulders from staying in the same place!) Not one single bathroom run - after a normal 3 to 5 trips every single night, didn't even need the full face mask like I thought for SURE I would need because I was such a mouth breather (when I was actually breathing, which wasn't very much apparently) mouth stays shut, no more snoring, no drooling, sleep all night, stay awake all day - it is freaking amazing. Yeah there is the Darth Vader/scuba diver not-exactly-sexy look to it all, but hell, you can have sex anywhere anytime. Bed is for SLEEPING finally!!!! I can share hotel rooms!!!

Anybody want to compare test results?

[hyphenate]

11. I went in June

But the entire experience was regrettable. I never even got the results, but they had me go back for a second night and tried to force me into the freaking mask, and I felt like I was suffocating. There is no way in hell I would wear that thing--I felt completely claustrophobic. They had NOT told me what to expect the second night, so it was all forced on me and I would have walked out, but it was already late at night.

Even now, three months later, they didn't even call me at my regular phone number to let me know I have an appointment at the end of this month, so I'm not even going to bother. The lack of communications is appalling.

And to make it even worse, the two nights I went, I was all blocked up with congestion. Which meant breathing out of my nose was next to impossible. I don't snore, I sleep on my side and I have taped myself at night as well to prove it. The tech kept ignoring me when I was saying something, so I got pissed at him as well. It will be a very cold day in hell before I ever go back to that doctor and department.

[BlueStorm]

12. I had one done a couple years ago

I have sleep hyponea, a bit different from apnea in which I breathe very shallow but I don't stop breathing. My dad was the one that advised me to go as he could hear me snoring. I do have a CPAP but haven't used in over a year. I do have to go in and get it checked out as it isn't working.

My sleep study experience was something. The first night I had trouble sleeping but I did fall asleep without realizing it. The second time I had to go I had to be connected to the CPAP machine with the mask that made feel very claustrophobic. I must have tried about 8 masks that night.

I also am very sensitive to noise and light. Especially light so I have to wear a blindfold.

Blue

[Bombero1956]

13. I did one

8 years ago. I too was hooked up to lots of machines including a mic under my nose. They never gave me anything to sleep and I had a very hard time getting to sleep. When I finally did they woke me up to remove everything and again I couldn't get to sleep. When I left the hospital my head hurt so bad I was sick to my stomach. I've had my cpap ever since then and I'm now on my second machine. For you folks who can't stand the idea of a mask, they do make nasal cannulas that just go in your nostrils.

[Missy Vixen]

15. I'm sorry to read they didn't give you anything to sleep

I got Ambien and I still had a hard time falling asleep. I have my own routine when we go to bed at home. DH could sleep through a machine gun duel in the next room, so the classical station in Seattle is playing very softly on the bedside radio, I'm all snuggled in my blankets, and I need my neato space-age pillow.

Julie

[REP]

16. Sure, I've Had Several

I have Severe Mixed (central and obstructive) apnea, AHI of 41 and O2 sat of 68% without a CPAP, which I've been using for 9 years, and they can have when they pry off my cold, dead nose! I have a REMStar with a Profile Lite gel mask and a Fischer-Paykel heated humidifer. I carry one in my car, just in case I ever have to sleep on the go.

[NJCher]

17. another option: mouth appliance

There's another device that is looking better than the CPAC because compliance is higher. This device is a mouth appliance made by a dentist (and now there are inexpensive ones you can order off the 'Net that don't have to be fitted). Here's a quote from an article the contrasts the two approaches:

CPAC works by forcing air into the nose, through either a fitted mask or nose prongs, to maintain an open airway passage. The most effective dental devices work by pushing the lower jaw forward, thereby opening the air passage behind the tongue. Most are custom made by dentists and are adjusted periodically to find the most comfortable and effective position for the individual patient.

from: http://www.webmd.com/content/Article/71/81201.htm

Here's another quote that explains why it may be better than a CPAC because the compliance is higher:

"CPAP is extremely effective, but studies show that many patients only use it for three or four hours a night," he says. "Our patients tell us that they are using these mouth devices all night. A partially effective treatment that is used more may be as good as a very effective treatment that is only used sporadically."

When I found out I had sleep apnea and the CPAC was suggested, I said, "No way in hell!" What a stupid idea! I can't even imagine being able to sleep with a contraption like that, never mind the fact that it makes noise for your sleeping partner!

So my orthodontist made this device and it does exactly what the paragraph above describes. Far more preferable than being hooked up to tubes to sleep!!

It was expensive--something like $3500--but if you don't want to spend that kind of money, technology has advanced so much in recent years that you can get by for something like $65 for a device. There's a link to a site that makes such devices. If anyone wants to know what it is, I'll do a search.





Cher

[Wapsie B]

18. For some people that may be an option.

However if someone just has a small airway no dental appliance is going to work. CPAP is the recommended treatment for sleep apnea because it is the most effective.

[casaloma]

19. At Home Sleep Test

I have severe obstructive sleep apnea (something like 60 episodes an hour) and I had an at-home test which involved putting all these leads on yourself, but then sleeping normally in your own bed, which seemed to work out fine. Then, after I had the mask and the CPAP, I was tested again to make sure it was working. The mask is difficult but the alternative, which for me was sort of dozing through life, was unbearable. The other thing I can add is that, judging from sleep disorder msg boards I belong to and my own experience, the general experience with suppliers is just horrible. Apria is my supplier and their incompetence would have been funny if it wasn't so frustrating. Just one example. I work in a prison and you can't take your cell phone in. I told them at least a dozen times not to call my cell phone b/c I wouldn't get the msg until 5 and they're closed. At least a dozen times I return to the car to find an "urgent" msg that I can't respond to. So I tell them and they're sort of grouchy, like they're committed, for some reason, to using the cell phone but agree to use my work phone. The very next time, yes, there's a msg on my cell phone. And they get cranky b/c I don't return the call that day. I could go on and on but with service like this, given how brain dead many of us are before treatment, it's a miracle anyone gets any treatment at all.

[NJCher]

21. you missed the point

Not talking about exceptions; talking about the population as a whole.

Repeat: A partially effective treatment that is used more may be as good as a very effective treatment that is only used sporadically."




Cher

[Kali]

22. Have you actually had a sleep study - before AND after, to make sure

this thing works? The cpap makes very little noise - much less than a small fan in the room, even. And WAY less than any snorring or gasping noises that used to occur. Yeah the tube (only one - like a small vacuum hose) is kind of irritating but it WORKS. Compliance is a problem for some, not me - I LIKE being awake and alive. To me it is nothing harder to learn than snorkling - which I also love to do, although with the cpap I can actually breath through my nose while I sleep. And actually SLEEP!:woohoo:

[koneko]

20. I had one recently to test for sleep apnea

I'd fallen asleep at the wheel - thankfully it was a brief episode, and when I woke up it triggered a panic attack.

Turns out I don't have apnea, but mild narcolepsy. Doc assumed it was apnea cos I'm overweight & I snore, apparently. Thankfully, I live in the city & don't need to drive, but I am always tired as hell.